Warehousing pallet



June 1966 A. A. PETERSON ETAL 3,

WAREHOUS ING PALLET 2 Sheets-Sheer. 1

Filed Sept. 2, 1964 INVENTORS FlG 3 Alan A.Peterson8 MuynurdP. Foster BY M W. m ATTORNEYS June 21, 1966 A. A. PETERSON ETAL 3,

WAREHQUSING PALLET Filed Sept. 2, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Alan A. Peterson 8| Maynard R Foster United States Patent 3,256,839 WAREHOUSING PALLET Alan A. Peterson, 95 Banks St., and Maynard P. Foster, 8 Stevens Ave., both of St. Albans, Vt. 05478 Filed Sept. 2, 1964, Ser. No. 393,836 9 Claims. (Cl. 10856) The present invention relates to Warehousing Pallet and has for an object to provide a knockdown unitized pallet which can be easily and quickly assembled by un-' skilled labor from its storage or shipping arrangement for use in warehousing operations, and which, when not required for use, can be quickly dissassembled and returned to its knockdown arrangement for storage or shipping.

Another object of the invention is to provide a pallet in which parts not required for use in either knockdown or erected positions may be safely stored within the pallet so 4 as to be accessible for use at any time.

A further object of the invention is to provide a warehou'sing pallet made up of tubular parts, preferably thin wall metal conduit possessing great strength and high load sustaining characteristics so that the same admits of fabrication in a variety of materials other than metal; for in stance, glass, fiberglass, plastics, paper, treated paper, epoxies, plywood, being examples of some of the mate- I rials which may be used.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a pallet of great strength at low cost of material ordinarily locally available.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention will be more fully described hereinafter, and will be more particularly pointed out in the claims appended here- In the drawings, wherein like symbols refer to like or corresponding parts throughout the several views:

- FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a preferred form of pallet constructed in accordance with the present invention and in the erected position.

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the same taken on an enlarged scale.

FIGURE 3 is an end View of the erected pallet in the dimensions illustrated in FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 44 in FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of the pallet shown in knockdown compact position in which the elongated cross members are shown as stored within the larger diameter tubular bed members with short tubular cross members binding the bed members in closely assembled relation.

FIGURE 6 is a side elevated view of the pallet showing the four elongated cross members in the set-up position of the pallet.

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary top plan View showing a modified form of the invention in which spacing sleeves are employed with the elongated cross members passing therethrough.

FIGURE 8 is an end elevational view of the form of pallet shown in FIGURE 7 with parts shown in section to illustrated the sleeve arrangement.

FIGURE 9 is a side elevational view of a further modifie'd form of pallet in which the bed members have lower cutaway portions to accommodate the forks of a lift truck so that the pallet is accessible to the truck from both ends Referring more particularly to the drawings, 20, 21 and 22 designate tubular bed members, the members 20 and 21 being side members and the member 22 an intermediate member, although a greater number of bed members may be employed if desired.

These bed members 20, 21 and 22 are provided with holes 23, 24 and 25 made transversely therethrough and preferably open through the top portions or crowns thereof for receiving slidably therethrough elongated tubular cross members 26, 27, 28 and 29, being preferably four in number although fewer or more of such cross members may be utilized if desired. The holes 23, 24 and 25 are rounded in cross section to conform to the cylindrical external diameters of the cross members. The arrangement is such that the upper portions or crowns of the cross members 26, 27, 28 and 29 are in the same uppermost plane of the pallet in which the crown of the bed members 20, 21 and 22 also lie for uniform support of the loading at all cross-over points of the pallet.

The holes 23, 24' and 25 are so made that portions 30 and 31 of the tubular bed members 20, 21 and 22 lap .upper side portions of the cross members to confine the cross members in the holes and prevent their upward accidental escape from the holes and form an interlocked relation with the bed members. The gaps 32 between the portions 30 and 31- expose sufiicient of the crowns of the cross members at the cross-over points in the uppermost plane of the pallet, as heretofore mentioned.

As shown more particularly in FIGURE 4, the cross members are provided with spaced perforations 33 and 34 for the reception of some suitable form of fastening devices; for instance, the cotter pins 35 and 36 which bind on opposite sides of the bed members 20, 21 and 22 below the crown of said bed members to thereby localize the members at the cross-over points and prevent the 'cross members 26, 27, 28 and 29 from accidentally pulling through the holes 23, 24 and 25. In the same way these fastenings prevent the sliding movement of the bed members 20, 21 and 22 relatively upon the cross members 26, 27, 28 and 29 and thus insure the preselected spacing of the bed members to determine overall width of the pallet, the length thereof being determined by the lengths of the bed members 20, 21 and 22 selected.

It will be noted particularly from FIGURE 1 that the cross members 26, 27,- 28 and 29 are of substantially less diameter than the bed members 20, 21 and 22 so that, in the knockdown position of FIGURE 5, the cross members 26, 27, 28 and, 29 may be accommodated within one or more of the bed members 20, 21 and 22 and stored therein during any transportation of the unit, and for the purpose of providing against loss some form of detachable fastening means may be employed to temporarily retain the elongated cross members in the stored position. For

instance, end portions of the bed members, or some of them, may be provided with cross apertures 37 which will aline with perforations in the cross members to receive cotter pins or other fastenings 38 (FIGURE 3) of a length to extend through the bed tubes and the included cross members.

It will be understood from FIGURES land 3 that the smaller diameter cross tubes 26, 27, 28 and 29 are as respects their lower portions raised above the lower plane of the pallet represented by the lower portions of the bed members 20, 21 and 22, thus providing spaces beneath the cross members for receiving the forks of a lift truck.

In FIGURE 9, which shows-a side view of a modification, the bed members 21 are shown as provided with cutouts 39, 40 opening through the lower portions thereof to also receive the forks of lift trucks whether the truck approaches from an end or a side of the pallet.

Patented June 21, 1966 Referring more particularly to FIGURES 7 and 8, a modified form of the invention is shown in which spacing sleeves 41, 42 are employed with end portions 43 shaped to the contour of the bed members and fitted thereagainst with the bores of the sleeves in registry with the holes 23 through the bed members whereby cross rods 44 may be passed through the sleeves and through the holes 23 and through outer sleeve sections 45, cotter pins 46 and 47 being passed through transverse holes 48 in the sleeves and rods to retain the assembly together.

As shown more particularly in FIGURE 5, short cross members 49, being two or more in number, are employed to hold the pallet in the knockdown condition. This knockdown condition is achieved by removing the fasteners 35 and 36, withdrawing the elongated cross members 26, 27, 28 and 29, which are then stowed in the bed members, as shown in FIGURE 5, and are replaced in the holes 23, 24 and 25 by the short cross members 49 which may be in the form of solid rods but are preferably in the form of containers, as shown in FIGURE 10, having ends 50 closed or sealed and removable plugs 51 at opposite ends thereof held in place by cross cotter pins 52 or other suitable forms of fastening. These short cross members 49 of this form constitute containers or receptacles for the numerous cotter pins 35, 36 employed in the set-up or erected position of the pallet.

As shown in the set-up position of FIGURE 1, the short cross members 49 may be stowed in one of the bed members; for instance 22, and held therein by cotter pin 52.

On either the short or the elongated cross pieces any additional fastening means, such as the cotter pins 35 and 36, may be dispensed with and replaced by projections extending out laterally from the cross members.

In the case of FIGURE 5, the cross member has the projections 53 and 54 in longitudinal alignment near the ends thereof such that in the collapsed position of the pallet the projections will extend beyond the bed members 21 and 20 respectively. The projections 53 and 54 are in longitudinal alignment on the short cross member 49. In introducing the cross member 49 through the holes in the bed members, the projections 53 and 54 will be in an upper position such that the leading projection will pass through the gaps 32 of the side members 36, 31 and after the leading projection has cleared the far hole, short cross member 49 is rotated in the holes through a suitable angular distance sufficient to shift the projections 53, 54 down upon the outside edges of the outer bed members 21, 20.

A similar arrangement is shown with respect to the elongated cross members 26 in FIGURES 2, 3, 11 and 12.

In this instance, however, three sets of spaced projections 55, 56, 57, 58, 59 and 60 are disposed in alignment that all such projections may be passed through the gaps of the three bed members 20, 21 and 22 when the cross member 26 is introduced from one side or the other of the pallet into the holes of the bed members. The spacing of these projections is such that on rotation of the cross member 26 in one or the other direction, the projections will be moved' out of the path of the gaps 32 and alongside opposite external surfaces of the bed members below the crown surfaces thereof into positions which will arrest any casual or other axial movement of the cross members through the holes 23. In this way the cross members will be held in place and at the same time the bed members will be held in predetermined spaced relation from K the gaps 32. The gaps 32 are large enough to permit When the pallet is knocked down for storage or shipping purposes, the cotter pins are removed or the cross members 26, 27, 28, 29 are rotated and the four elongated cross members 26, 27, 28 and 29 are removed from their hole locations in the bed pieces. The bed pieces are then pushed together and placed tightly side by side and at least two short cross members 49, as shown in FIG- URE 5, are inserted in the outer set of holes in the three bed pieces and four cotter pins are engaged through the holes in the opposite ends of the short cross members, thereby locking the bed pieces into a very compact package. Where the projections are used in place of the cotter pins, the short cross members 49 will be rotated to cause the projections to bind upon the external cylindrical walls of the outer bed pieces.

The pallet is then ready for storage or shipping. During the time the pallet is in its erected position the two short tubular cross members 49 are locked within one of the bed pieces, as shown in FIGURE 3. In all cases the heads of the cotter pins will always be below the plane of the top crown of the bed and cross members, thereby eliminating any obstruction in the loading of the pallet.

The platform of the pallet consists of the, four elongated cross members 26, 27, 28 and 29 which pass through the bed pieces and are pinned or otherwise held in place. The number of cross members may be increased to allow for whatever bearing surfaces are required for any particular loading period.

The chief advantages of the pallet of this invention are as follows:

(1) A 4' x 4' x 6" wooden pallet occupies eight cubic feet of storage or shipping space; whereas a 4 x 4 x 6" tubular pallet according to the invention in its storage arrangement occupies only two cubic feet of storage space.

(2) A 4 x 4 x 6 wooden pallet weigh approximately one hundred pounds; whereas a 4 x 4 x 6" tubular pallet made of thin wall conduit weighs only approximately twenty-two pounds.

(3) A tubular pallet made of metal, plastic, fiberglass, epoxies or specially treated paper has no nails to loosen and damage materials nor would there be any splintering, as in wooden pallets, to cause damage.

(4) Tu-bul-ar pallets of the materials listed could be stored out of doors with little damage, if any, by the elements. A wooden pallet exposed to the elements twists, warps and pulls nails loose. Tubular pallets used in creameries, chemical plants and other places where the pallets are subject to contamination could be steam cleaned Without damage; whereas wooden pallets would warp.

In the case where the projections 53, 54, or 55, 56, and 57, 58, and 59, 69 are used, the cross members carrying such projections may be prevented from rotating casually from the locked to the unlocked position where the projections re-aline with the gaps 32 by the use of end cotter pins in the position of 36 with the heads and the ends of the cotter pins projecting out to engage the adjacent wall portions of the end bed pieces, thus preventing any axial angular movement of the cross members.

The projections on the various cross members may be provided by spot welds and in non-metallic materials the same may be replaced by projections which are secured by adhesive or otherwise into the particular materials used,

Referring more particularly to FIGURES 11, 12 and 13, FIGURE 11 shows projections 55 and 56 in alignment with gaps 32, the arrow indicating that in assembly the cross members 26 are moved axially through the holes 23. The leading projection 56 is shown in FIG- URE 12 as having passed through the gap 32 after which, as appears in FIGURE 13, the cross member 26 is rotated-to cause the pins 55 and 56 to move out of registry with the gaps 32 and against external portions of the entrained bed member 21 which will then prevent axial shifting of the cross member 26 either forwards or backwards in the holes.

To knock down the device, various cross members 26 are rotated in the opposite direction to aline the projections 55, 56 to the gaps 32 whereupon the cross members 26 may be withdrawn axially from the holes 23.

Although we have disclosed herein the best forms of the invention known to us at this time, we reserve the right to all such modifications and changes as may come Within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A warehousing pallet comprising (a) tubular bed members having (b) holes crosswise the axes thereof and having gaps above the holes opening through top crown portions of the bed members,

(d) cross members of greater cross-section than the gaps dimensioned externally to slidably snugly fit the holes in the bed members and having (e) top crown portions extending through the gaps into coplanar relationship with the top crown portions of the bed members to bear the loading therewith, and

(f) fastening means between the bed and cross members for locking the cross members against axial movement in either direction in the holes.

2. A warehousing pallet as claimed in claim 1 in which said holes are (g) round, and said cross members are (h) cylindrical and slide and rotate in the holes, and

said fastening means comprise (i) projections on the cross members dimensioned to pass through the gaps in one angular orientation of the cross members and on subsequent rotation of the cross members to abut the bed members as stops to arrest axial sliding movement of the cross members in the holes.

3. A warehousing pallet as claimed in claim 2 in which said projections are (i) in P (k) the projections of each pair spaced from one another less than the diameters of the bed members to abut opposite side wall portions of the bed members when the cross members are rotated in one direction,

(1) said pairs of projections separated from one another the preselected spacing distance for the bed members.

4. A warehousing pallet as claimed in claim 1 in which the holes (g) communicate with the interior spaces of the bed members and are made (h) through the shell portions of the tubular bed members, and the gaps are (i) of less width than the diameters of the cross members.

5. A warehousing pallet as claimed in claim 1 in which at least one of said cross members is (g) hollow, and further comprising (h) a detachable stopper for the hollow cross member.

6. A Warehousing pallet as claimed in claim 5 further comprising 6 (i) means for securing the stopper in closed position and abutting a bed member as a stop to prevent movement in at least one sense of the cross hollow member. 7. A warehousing pallet as claimed in claim 1 in which said cross members are (g) of materially smaller diameter than the diameters of the bed members to be stowed in the bed members when not inuse, further comprising (h) means for detachably retaining the cross members in the bed members. 8. A warehousing pallet as claimed in claim 1 in which said cross members are (g) short and elongated to bind the bed members in knockdown or erected positions, further comparing (h) means for detachably securing either the short or elongated cross members in storage in at least one bed member when not in use.

9. A warehousing pallet comprising (a) bed members constituted of hollow cylindrical shells, said bed members (b) arranged in spaced relation with their axes running substantially parallel, said bed members having at spaced intervals along the axial length thereof (c) alined pairs of round holes of considerably smaller diameter than the diameters of the bed members, said pairs of holes made transversely of the bed members and in upper portions thereof only, each pair of holes (d) following the rounded contour of the bed member shells and being united at crown portions of the .bed members in gaps,

(e) cross members of a length to span all of the bed members at substantially right angles to the axes of the bed members, said cross members (f) being of external round configuration and being of a diameter substantially smaller than the diameters of the bed members and of an external diameter to fit slidingly through the pairs of alined holes of the several bed members and (g) being rotatable in said holes and being exposed through said gaps in alinement with the crown portions of said bed members so that at cross-over points both :the tubular bed members and said cross members together will directly receive the loading/and (h) pairs of fastening members outstanding from said cross members at said cross-over points, each pair of said fastening members being spaced apart on the axes of the cross members a distance which will cause the pairs of fastening members to engage as stops portions of the bed members adjacent the holes and when said cross members are rotated in the holes to a position where the fastening members register .with the gaps the cross members may be slid axially through the holes to dismember the pallet.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,835,825 12/1931 Thierry 108-51 X 2,492,626 12/1949 Fletcher l08-58 2,643,080 6/1953 Vogel 108 51 2,904,297 9/ 1959 Hamilton 10856 2,930,481 3/1960 Bebie 108-5 1 X 3,131,656 5/1964 Houle 108-56 3,165,078 1/1965 White 10856 FOREIGN PATENTS 847,036 9/1960 Great Britain.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner.

G. O. FINCH, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A WAREHOUSING PALLET COMPRISING (A) TUBULAR BED MEMBERS HAVING (B) HOLES CROSSWISE THE AXES THEREOF AND HAVING (C) GAPS ABOVE THE HOLES OPENING THROUGH TOP CROWN PORTIONS OF THE BED MEMBERS, (D) CROSS MEMBERS OF GREATER CROSS-SECTION THAN THE GAPS DIMENSIONED EXTERNALLY TO SLIDABLY SNUGLY FIT THE HOLES IN THE BED MEMBERS AND HAVING (E) TOP CROWN PORTIONS EXTENDING THROUGH THE GAPS INTO COPLANAR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE TOP CROWN PORTIONS OF THE BED MEMBERS TO BEAR THE LOADING THEREWITH, AND (F) FASTENING MEANS BETWEEN THE BED AND CROSS MEMBERS FOR LOCKING THE CROSS MEMBERS AGAINST AXIAL MOVEMENT IN EITHER DIRECTION IN THE HOLES. 